Thursday, December 31, 2009

Since I went out a couple of weeks ago and bought myself a new car, I've got to tighten the purse strings a little to accommodate a car payment again. The most obvious place I could stand to cut back on my spending is my yarn buying.

One of my goals for 2010 is to knit from the stash as much as possible. My stash is already pretty full - I've got yarn for at least a dozen sweaters, and probably enough to make 3 dozen pairs of socks (if not more... probably WAY more). I've got an amazing assortment of worsted/sport/bulky weight yarns that should be able to fulfill any needs. I don't really need to buy yarn.

I also received some hefty gift certificates to Hill Country Weavers for Christmas - so that should hold me for a while too.

But in the meantime, my lizard brain is panicking and telling me that I need to stock up or I'll be yarnless in 2010. So I've been taking full advantage of end of year yarn sales in the last week and as the New Year's deadline approaches I'm having to remind myself constantly that a yarnless world isn't on my horizon.

My crafting plan from now until the Knitting Olympics in February is to finish my WIPS (like I did in November) and keep the casting on of new projects to a bare minimum. Ravelry shows that I have 10 active WIPs (including today's Akimbo & the scarf that is almost done) and 2 that are hibernating). If I could get the active WIPS down to 5, that would be excellent.

For the knitting Olympics I'm thinking about making a coat. Either Indigo or Sylvi. Or maybe I'll arrange the A&D cardigan KAL for that time period.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The Arts & Drafts holiday party is tomorrow and I'm up late culling my stash and finishing my gifts. I added tags to my button jars (made from vintage buttons on cards - most of which still have .07 or .25 cent price tags still on them) and hot glued a big old single button to the lid. Photos below. I'm excited about how these turned out.

I also got my first set of blocking wires - which makes blocking SO much easier. Below are photos of my Seraphim shawl and the Sugar Maple wrap while blocking.

Monday, November 9, 2009

I am now the proud owner of 12+ pounds of assorted vintage buttons. (Thanks eBay!) I also purchased a dozen Mason jars. My plan is to give a jar full of buttons to each of my crafty girly pals as holiday gifts. The gift tags will be buttons that are still on their original cards and I'm thinking of maybe hot gluing one or more button to the lid of the jars.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

October is the month where people write a 50,000-word novel as part of NaNoWriMo. In the knitting world - we have NaKniSweMo. In NaKniSweMo you knit a sweater in a month (50,000 stitches).

Instead of starting a new sweater for NaKniSweMo, I'm going to finish as many of my WIPs as possible. There will be no new items allowed (except for 2 hats and a scarf which are already on my Christmas list). In a perfect world I would finish my garter yoke sweater and my pinwheel sweater and at least one pair of socks.

Friday, October 23, 2009

If I make the mistake of leaving one of my knitting projects within doggy reach - Lola will find it and tear it up. She mostly likes to chew on the knitting needles. (CWS dubbed it RESENTMENT but that might have been his own subconscious feelings about my knitting talking.)

This last time was a bit tragic because the project was already a total pain in the ass. I had frogged the entire thing 4 or so times before finally feeling like I was on the right track and then BOOM - Lola got a hold of it... I was able to salvage some of it and I'm back to the beginning again. I might put this one into hibernation until I can face knitting it again for the 5th or 6th time.

Another of Lola's handy-works:

In none knitting news, I got myself a tattoo of a pair of scissors, a mythical Hodag and a very serious looking beaver, and then I ran off to Belize for the weekend with 7 of my girly friends. We spent two glorious days on a sailboat - snorkeling, eating, laughing, swimming, and having a great time. I didn't want to come home.....

Monday, October 5, 2009

This marks the beginning of the brief period in Texas where sweaters might have an opportunity to be worn (I've already worn my top-down Silk Garden raglan cardigan a couple of times). It would be a shame to go through this winter without getting some use out of the other 3 (or 4) sweaters that are in progress. One sweater just needs sleeves and another just needs the sleeves finished (I'm about 1/4 of the way through).

I currently have 12 projects in progress (well actually - 14 - because I have a scarf and a sweater that are officially 'hibernating') and I really like the idea of bring that down under 10, or even under 6...

I could vow not to start anything new until 2010 - or at least until November or December.

BUT.

I do want to make CWS a hat and scarf for Christmas, and one of my co-workers is having a baby soonish. PLUS I proposed a Knit-A-Long with the Arts & Drafts gals to all knit the Vine Yoke Cardigan. And I would love to knit a sleeve for my cute new Dell Mini 9. So I'm loath to outlaw ALL new projects.

I think I'll at LEAST vow not to start any more socks until the 3 in-progress pairs are done, or not to start any more sweaters until, at least, the sleeveless ones have sleeves, and no more shawls until I finish Daybreak and Ulmus (I'm really aching to start a Herbivore!).

The lovely and talented Gadora Wilder wrote a beautiful piece on my 1935 east Austin house. I couldn't be happier.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

CWS and I are heading down to the Texas coast with a gaggle of rollergirls (and some of their mates) for a weekend on the beach. The forecast is rain & thunderstorms for our entire stay so I'm banking on a fair amount of knitting time (along with eating, reading, playing board games, cooking and napping).

I love the idea of knitting, drinking coffee and hanging around with some of my favorite people for the weekend. Life is good.

I'm hoping to finish my Daybreak shawl. I am getting close to being done (18 out of 20 black stripes finished) but the rows are getting longer and longer and thus taking more and more time...

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Here is the diamond plate truck storage box that serves as the coffee table. Inside is all the sweater quantities of yarn, as well as a small number of finished objects. Everything is in individual ziploc bags (often with the planned pattern printed out inside).

Monday, September 7, 2009

A bunch of the Arts & Drafts gals went to the Austin premier of Handmade Nation yesterday at the Alamo. Most of us had VIP tickets which entitled us to a great goody bag full or crafty treats and VIP seating! Yeah.

There was a craft fair beforehand where I resisted spending a zillion dollars. (I did buy a baby gift for one of my employees who is expecting, but other than that I managed to be happy with the contents of my goody bag.)

The movie was great - and very inspirational. Made me want to move to Providence IMMEDIATELY! Seems like a lot of cool stuff is going on in Rhode Island, and of course - in the Pacific Northwest. The movie - overall - made me feel really happy to be part of such a diverse, talented and prolific community of crafty ladies (and gentlemen).

I'm working today, which is not so bad. Before work I got to have breakfast with CWS (before he went to sleep for the day) and take a second stab at an estate sale that I went to on Saturday. Everything was 2/3 off today and I scored one of the paintings that I have been coveting since Saturday. Apparently I missed the other Jesus painting by minutes today. Grrrrrr!!

This painting was painted in 1959 (according to the signature) and I think it might be Moses (based on the stone tablets, and the fact that the background could be a parted Red Sea). But it could be Jesus too. Who knows.

Monday, August 31, 2009

I recieved my one pound bag of handpainted sock yarn from Cherry Tree Hill. So Yummy!!

After tearing the lace edging out of on my Ulmus for the 3rd time and getting all 399 stitches back on the needles - I decided to put it aside for a while (or at least until I'm not too stubborn/lazy to use a freaking life line) and immediately cast on for a Daybreak shawl (for Chris' sister Heather for Christmas). So far I love it!!! And it seems to be a really quick knit.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

In this post I talked about buying some "creative packs" (ie: mill ends) from Colinette.com. I had them sent to Colin in Sweden and he sent them to me. The package arrived yesterday and was full of awesome treats! Thank you Colin!!!

I got a total of 21 colorways in various mini skein sizes. I’m so excited.

I’m on the fence about what to use them for.

I suppose I should also consider the fact that I just bought a one pound (!!) bag of "endlots" (ie: mill ends) of handpainted sock yarn from Cherry Tree Hill. So I'm about to have another zillion yards of random sock yarn ends. Yummy.

CWS just helped me pick out the colors (Jitterbug: Vatican Pie and black) for his sister's Christmas gift. His sister is a former employee of mine and I'm crazy about her so it feels right to knit for her. I'm going to make her a Daybreak Shawl. I'm ready to cast on NOW but I think I'll force myself to finish the Ulmus first.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Sock progress is cooking along. CWS and I are back on so his socks came screaming out of hibernation and are back on the top of the pile. Should be ready to turn the heels shortly.

Started the lace edging on my Ulmus. Totally messed it up (misread the chart and did the wrong kind of slipped stitches on the WS) and ended up having to frog back and then make sure that all 399 freaking stitches were back on the needles. Ugh. It took hours...

Monday, August 17, 2009

I finished my fifth pinwheel blanket - despite swearing after the first one that I would never ever make one again (and I doubt this is my last). This was was for Lisa & Alex's new baby girl Enna Rae.

And I finished a pair of socks that I started back in 2007. Yeah, no shit, 2007.

This was the last pair of socks that I knit separately before switching to two at a time. Last ever case of Second Sock Syndrome! I think they are ugly as sin but I like how the yarn pooled like crazy on one sock and striped up on the other. Very cool.

Monday, August 10, 2009

I'm six loooooooong rows away from putting edging onto my Ulmus and I will admit that I'm very tired of this project - although I'm looking forward to knitting the pretty lace leafy edging. The last rows of shawls are always painful. (Additionally I wonder why I bother knitting all these lace shawls - since I don't wear shawls.)

I got a lot done over the weekend while watching some movies, sitting in a coffeeshop with my pal Joe (and his adorable dog Duke) and finishing up season 6 of Oz. (I'm going to miss those Oz characters. I had gotten rather attatched to them over the 56 hours I spent with them. Next on my list? True Blood or Breaking Bad or Battlestar Galactica. I've also got to watch season 1 of Sons of Anarchy again before season 2 starts in September.)

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Plugging along on my Ulmus shawl. I've decided to go a little bigger than the large size which means I need 399 stitches on the needles before I start the edging. I'm hoovering right around 340 at the moment so there is still a fair amount of knitting to do. As always I am loving the Colinette Jitterbug.

Speaking of Colinette Jitterbug, the Colinette website in Wales doesn't ship to the US but they sell something I really wanted. Jitterbug - is my favorite yarn ever - and the website sells "creative packs" which are basically mills ends. For £9.74 you get 250g of Jitterbug yarn in multiple shades and hank sizes (a normal skein of Jitterbug is 100g and and also sells for £9.74). I ordered 3 creative packs (equalled about $58.00 with shipping) and had it sent to Colin in Sweden. Whoop! He is going to forward it along to me along with some goodies from Sweden.

What am I going to do with 750g of assorted Jitterbug sock yarn? Excellent question. I'm thinking about a crazy throw for the couch (log cabin? pinwheel? modular knitting?) or maybe a crazy multicolored shawl or a crazy lady cardigan?

Monday, August 3, 2009

I got drunk accidentally in the middle of the afternoon yesterday. Coffee turned into beer after 1:00 PM and I'm such a lightweight that I was all buzzed after two drinks. While winding my way home I ran into these giant letters in the dumpster by a construction site. I got permission - after speaking to some security guards and the manager named Bobby at a pawn show (they own the property), followed by hilariousness with wheelbarrows, hurricane fencing and ultimately the realization that my giant letter R would not fit into my car. I called Nathan for a rescue, no answer, so I called Joey. He arrived in record time, rescued my letter R in his truck and we ended up spending some quality time shooting the shit over Topo Chico's on the couch.

I am now the proud owner of a giant letter R. I think I'll put Christmas lights on it.

I finished my pinwheel blanket over the weekend (photos soon) while watching movies with CWS. Just need to weave in the ends, give it a good wash/light blocking and send it on it's way to NYC. The baby is due any day now so the timing is good.

Things with CWS are on hold for the moment, which leaves me with an unfinished pair of socks. I could finish them and gift them to him. I could frog them. Or I could finish them and decide later where they will ultimately end up. Right now I think I'll just focus on some other UFOs and come back to them in a few weeks when I'm feeling less raw, sad, discouraged and lonely.

Monday, July 27, 2009

After coming to terms with the fact that three giant drawers of sock yarn were not going to fit into the new dental cabinet, I mulled it over for a few days, and then came up with a new plan.

The jelly cabinet in the living room is now the new home for all fiber, yarn remnants/scraps and the yarn needed to finish any works in progress (plus the doomed sweater that I started for Nathan but never finished due to the SWEATER CURSE that I blame for our breakup). The top drawers of the dentist cabinet became the new home for needles. One drawer for bamboo. One for metal. The old needle home - the bottom drawer of the antique sewing cabinet - now houses my small stash of lace weight yarn. In the bottom few drawers of the dental cabinet - I carefully arranged all of my unfinished projects. The big bottom drawer for sweaters (4 of them. OUCH) and the drawers above that for smaller things - socks, scarves, hats, etc. Most of the sock yarn went back into the three original drawers but I made one special drawer for self-striping/self-patterning sock yarns, and one drawer for my name-brand lovelies (Colinette Jitterbug, Koigu, Shibui, Malabrigo, blah blah).

All in all - I feel successful in my rearranging and using the dentist cabinet for things that suit it's limited drawer space/size. Plus I got to fondle all my yarn which always makes me extra happy.

I've been meaning to do a big WIPs post to expose my shamefully large pile of unfinished project to the world. Maybe I'll do that tonight...

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Am facing the fact that the drawers on my new dental cabinet are actually quite shallow and small. It looks like my original plan - to move 3 huge drawers of sock yarn into the dental cabinet - just isn't going to work. No way. Am sorting through my stash in my head - thinking of another solution. Maybe use some of the smaller drawers for needles/notions and some of the bigger drawers for works in progress & their associated yarn. Really not sure but my brain is working working working, like a game of yarn tetris.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Ok, I admit it... I was totally out of space for yarn/fiber storage. I filled up the 3 large drawers and 2 side storage areas in the china cabinet, and the truck box "coffee table" is stuffed to the brim.

I was faced with a pile of new sock yarn that had no home. Uh oh!

I don't have a lot of room - especially in the dining/craft room that already has the built-in china cabinet, a huge armoir, a bookcase and the dinette/chairs. So a buffet, sideboard or even a cool old vanity just wasn't going to work. I got it into my head that I wanted a vintage/antique piece that had a zillion drawers of various sizes. I did a bunch of research - looked at tall/thin highboys and lingerie chests - and finally decided that I wanted an antique dental/medical or spool cabinet. I was also inspired by the art deco dental cabinets that Nikol has in Harveyville, and wanted something that would fit in with my existing antiques and the age of the house (1935).

I looked and looked and looked. Old oak dental/medical cabinets are incredibly beautiful but also incredibly expensive. I was able to locate a bunch of very cool art deco dental cabinets on eBay but there were all in CA and had no delivery options so I started stalking local antique stores. At one store the proprietor suggested that I go to the City-Wide Garage sale that weekend so I wandered over after a brunch date on Sunday morning.

One vendor had both an old oak dental cabinet that was $2500+:and, luckily, an art deco cabinet that was exactly what I wanted:

It was a few hundred dollars more than I wanted to spend but I knew I would regret it greatly if I didn't buy it, so I haggeled a slightly lower price (still way more than I wanted to spend) and took it home with me.

I found the worklist inside which marks it's age at 1942 and also found this trapped along the back wall. Very cool.

I'll post photos of it in it's new home later today. I think it'll be full of sock yarn by the end of the week. Mmmmm... sock yarn!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

I'm knitting two new pairs of socks. One for me, one for CWS. They are nestled together in their little project bag.

The green pair are for me. They are Spring Forward socks in Dream in Color Smooshy (colorway: Happy Forest). And the blue pair are for CWS. They are based on the Simple Trekking Socks by MimiKnits and are being knit in Colinette Jitterbug in Velvet Damson. (MimiKnits is also responsible for both the Icarus & Seraphim shawls.)

Summer is the perfect sock knitting time. Socks are portable and small, and they don't lay across you lap like a hot dog. I love knitting socks.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

When it gets really hot, if you leave a pair of Crocs in your car - they will shrink.

How do I know this? I would say - as a conservative estimate - that, over the years, this is the fourth pair of Crocs that I've left in the car and shrunk. The shoe on the left was under some stuff, the shoe on the right was on top...

And for the first time in years, these are the ONLY shoes in my car. (My car normally has 2-5 pairs of shoes in it...) So I'm stuck with one regular shoe and one TINY shoe.

Ironically, I'm closing on my refinance today. I might need to leave a few minutes early so that I can stop somewhere and buy some shoes.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

My fancy Betsey Johnson shoes (and my pasty calf pre-new tattoo) and a glimpse of the Joey socks (at the wedding we went to together a couple of weekends back):

____The subject of my ill-advised office romance/rebound (of many many months ago) moved back into his old cube - which happens to be right by mine. I extended an olive branch - in the form of an ecard that said "I SHAT WHERE I EAT" but - as usual, there was no response. Oh well, we'll just go on with our previous plan of pretending the other doesn't exist, and the occasional muttered hello when necessary.

____CWS and I had a great time on our trip to Kansas, despite that I had to come to terms with the fact that the socks I am making for him were at least an inch too big. So I had to rip back to before the heels were turned. Many many many hours/days of work lost. I managed to turn the heels again (one took me upwards of SEVEN HOURS during our drive home...) and am working my way back up the legs, again.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Joey was my date at a wedding yesterday. He was wearing the Joey Socks. That made me happy.

CWS and I are driving up to Harveyville, KS on Thursday. A long ass roadtrip is a good way to test out the lasting power of a relationship. If we don't hate each other by the end of the trip - that will be a good sign.

We are leaving on Thursday morning and will need to be back by Monday afternoon because we both have jury duty (strange huh?). Saturday I'm getting tattooed by Cap'n Ron Miller at Electric tattoo in Topeka. I'll be getting my knitting tattoo and I'm excited about it. I'm keeping my tattoo idea under wraps for now - especially since it hasn't been designed yet but it will not be your basic yarn/needles knitting tattoo. And should also include bunny slippers, if I have my way.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

I delivered my Tulips sweater to baby Lucy on Sunday. She is the most precious baby EVER!

The CWS Socks are cranking along. I'm working up the leg, will work in pattern for a while and then switch to ribbing for the last inch or two. Here is a quick status picture (you can ignore the fact that they are mighty big on me...)

My knitting goals for June are to finish the CWS Socks, the purple/green/brown socks for me and the pinwheel blanket for Alex & Lisa's new baby. But now I've become obsessed with the Ulmus shawl and I'm dying to cast on.

I'm thinking of going with Colinette Jitterbug in Dusk & Velvet Bilberry. But I might need to do some additional stash diving before I settle on two colors.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

I finished weaving in the ends on my Tulips for Lucy sweater last night. It might really be the cutest thing I have ever made. Plus it was incredibly enjoyable to knit. I loved every moment of it! Really! I did. I learned new skills and LOVE the way it turned out. So cute. ZOMG!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Once the Joey Socks (also knows as the Sexual Frustration Socks or the SOCKS OF RAGE) were off the needles, and off to live with Joey. I cast on for a pair of socks for CWS, my gentleman suitor of the last month or so. (Although to be transparent, which is the point of totally public blogs right - UGH - I still have some pretty strong and conflicted feelings about Joey which were lessened by the completion of his socks, but certainly have not disappeared entirely.)

CWS is particular about his sock colors - and asked for only socks that are predominantly black - although upon further probing I have discovered that he is open to all manner of crazy color combos, as long as black is involved.

These are my first toe-up socks. After mastering the cast-on - the next big hurdle was the heel. I decided to go with a short row heel and followed this tutorial by CosmicPluto. It involved double wraps which were not nearly as complicated as I originally imagined.

I successfully turned one heel last night. And I am happy about it.

These second socks - the CWS Socks - are a lot less emotionally fraught than the Joey Socks. I've been trying to knit them from a place of peace and hope, instead of from a place of needing to knit them to manage my frustration and anxiety.

So yeah, I guess I'm a slutty sock knitter. I talked about it in group therapy last week and my therapist was very concerned that I should also be making socks for myself. I assured her that, yes, I do knit myself socks. In fact I'm almost done with a pair now. They are wildly ugly and I started them back in 2007, but damn it, I AM knitting socks for myself too!

Monday, May 25, 2009

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Joey's socks are finished and gifted (which was accompanied by an unexpected release from emotional turmoil. Hurray for knitting!!!) So I'm free to start on some new socks. (Am I a slutty sock knitter?)

I've always been terrified of toe-up cast-ons but after the yarn fiasco with Joey's socks, it felt like the right time. Nikol suggested the toe-up cast-on from a free Knit Picks pattern. The cast-on was simple and intuitive, and I was knitting in no time! Learning new skills is the greatest!

I'm using Socks That Rock lightweight in one of the Raven Clan colors: Ravenscroft. This is my first time knitting with any Socks That Rock yarn and I'm enjoying it so far.